Stopping and Staring

If I don't take the time, it will take me. I'd rather the choice be mine.

Souls, like animals and plants, need air. Do our lives have enough empty space in them to nourish our spirit? Living in cities, plugged into networks of jobs, friends, and projects, sometimes we neglect our standing-and-staring needs. They're quite specific:  we need to be outside, in pleasant weather, with nothing much to do. We need to let the world go on its way without us for a while. We need to have things before our eyes:  clouds, or boats, or waving grass.

Blessed idleness!  Blessed inattention!  When we slip back into the groove, we're refreshed by our passive interlude. Let’s remember the recipe and find some time to stand aside and stare.   ~ The Promise of a New Day